Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ada stared at David, standing across from her in the church where she had spent hours of nearly every Sunday of her entire life.
Despite it being early in the day, it was still somewhat dim within the impressively overwhelming building as the small bit of sun present on this cloudy day filtered in through the stained glass, punctuated by flickering candles placed throughout the church.
Ada tried to take a deep breath, but that only made her cough when the incense clogged her throat.
David didn’t want to be here in this situation any more than she did — that was obvious.
But both of them had been forced into this in one way or another, and Ada would hold her parents in contempt for the rest of her life.
She stole a glance at her mother, who was staring at her, lips pursed, unremorseful. Her father, at least, looked slightly more contrite, though he made no effort to stop this, showing her what was more important to him.
The vicar cleared his throat as he continued his monotonous drone. Ada had blocked out most of it. “If any person can show just cause why these two persons should not be joined together in holy matrimony, let them now speak, or else hereafter forever hold their peace.”
There was a moment of stilted silence that Ada desperately wanted to fill with her own objections, but what was she to say?
The truth? Hardly. Just as the vicar opened his mouth to continue speaking, a commotion sounded from the back of the church and the heavy wooden doors swung open with a resounding bang.
Ada whirled around to see Gideon Sharpe striding down the aisle, his broad frame filling the narrow space between the pews as two burly henchmen flanked him, just a step behind.
Her stomach clenched as she took in the cruel twist of his lips and the malevolent glint in his eyes as he surveyed the scene before him with a smug, mocking expression.
"Well, well, what a charming little ceremony," Sharpe drawled, his mocking voice echoing off the stone walls. "But I'm afraid this charade won't be necessary."
Ada's father rose from the pew, his face ashen. "What is the meaning of this intrusion, Sharpe?"
Sharpe chuckled darkly. "This pathetic attempt at a merger through marriage is futile.
You see, I've come to inform you that both your companies will soon be crumbling under the weight of their own corruption.
And when they do, I'll be there to pick up the pieces and take control myself. And while I do not care if this wedding goes forward or not, this did present a rather convenient time to inform you of my plans and bring your daughter with me.”
Ada's heart hammered in her chest as Sharpe's gaze fixed on her. "For you, my dear, will be coming with me. I'm sure that will persuade your father and fiancé to cooperate."
No one stopped him as he strode up the aisle toward her, reaching out to grab her arm, his grip bruising. Ada tried to wrench away, panic rising in her throat, but his hold was too strong. Just as he began to drag her towards the doors, a shout from outside sounded through the church.
Jonny burst inside — and he wasn’t alone.
Ada's eyes widened as she saw Emmaline, Lily, and Minnie standing among Rhys, Colin, and Tommy, their faces all set with determination.
Relief flooded through her at the sight of Jonny, his fists clenched and eyes blazing with fury as he took in the scene before him.
He had come. Despite what he had told her to do, what he had thought was best for her — for both of them — he had received her note and something within him had cared enough to reach out for help and to come.
"Let her go, Sharpe," Jonny growled, his voice low and dangerous. "This ends now."
Sharpe sneered. “Well, if it isn’t the half-back and his ragtag band of misfits.
You really think you can stop me, boy? I’ve told you time and again, you only have one option — to join me.
I don’t think I’ve ever told you the other option.
That is for you to go away forever. I think even you can figure that one out. ”
Jonny fisted his hands, ready to do battle, as Ada’s heart welled with a fierce hope. Jonny squared off against the man who had caused so much pain, the air crackling with tension between them, the silence broken only by the ragged breathing of the onlookers, no one else brave enough to say a word.
Sharpe's men moved to intercept them, but Jonny's group was ready. The men clashed in a flurry of fists and shouts that echoed off the church walls.
Ada didn’t know who she would prefer to win the battle of munitions — her father and the Carters or Sharpe — but what she did know was that she would choose Jonny and the friends who meant so much to her again and again.
She seized the moment of distraction to stomp hard on Sharpe's foot. He cursed, his grip loosening just enough for her to tear free.
She ran towards Jonny, her skirts tangling around her legs. He caught her in his arms, pulling her close as the fight raged around them. Ada clung to him, breathing in his familiar leather and soap, feeling the solid strength of his body against hers.
"I've got you," Jonny murmured, his breath warm against her ear, his scent filling her and making her feel like she was coming home. "I won't let him take you."
Together they faced Sharpe, who was now alone, his men subdued by Jonny's friends. The man's face was twisted with rage, but beneath it, Ada could see a flicker of fear. He knew he was outmatched.
"This isn't over," Sharpe snarled, backing towards the doors. "You can count on that.”
“There are not many things I can count on, Sharpe,” Jonny said, his brow furrowed low. “You certainly do not make that list.”
Sharpe hurried out of the church, his men going with him.
“Well,” Ada’s father said, standing and pulling down his jacket. “That was quite something. Thank you to all for your assistance. Come, Ada, let’s get this done.”
Ada stood firm, hooking her arm around Jonny’s.
“No,” she said, quietly but firmly.
“Pardon me?” her father said, leaning toward her.
“I said no,” she repeated. “I will not be marrying David.”
David’s shoulders released in relief. He hadn’t wanted to marry her, but clearly he also had been too scared to be the one to call it off.
“Ada,” her father hissed angrily. “They know—”
She lifted her hands, deciding that she didn’t care anymore — about any of it.
Her friends had left it all behind, and look how happy they were.
“Tell whomever you’d like. I don’t care anymore.
Let the truth free. I’ll tell you mine. I do not want to be forced into marriage, and while I would prefer that Sharpe not take over your company, Father, there are other ways to merge it.
You don’t need me, and I refuse to be used any longer.
I want you in my life, Father, but I would prefer that we find a way out of this together.
These people can help,” she said, waving her hand at her friends.
“If you want to discuss it more, you can find me through Lily.”
At that, she hooked her arm fully through Jonny’s, and walked through the door, choosing a new future.
How much of a role Jonny would play in that future, she wasn’t entirely sure.
Before, he had made it clear that he wasn’t exactly interested in forever.
But she was looking forward to finding out if there just might be a chance now.
Jonny’s heart was racing after the showdown with Sharpe, Ada’s family, and the Carters.
He couldn’t get out of his mind the look of hatred her father had shot at them as they had exited the church, the rest of them staring after him, nor, truly, the panic that had filled his heart when he had walked through those doors and seen Ada standing there, as beautiful as ever, ready to marry a man who might provide her safety, but would never treat her the way she should be treated.
As the most precious woman in the entire world.
He had never felt pride like he did now, looking at Ada, still clutching his arm, although she was silent, her wide-eyed face the only sign of the incredulity she felt.
“Ada, that was something else entirely,” Emmaline was saying as the eight of them walked through the Manchester street, which was bustling with merchants and passersby who didn’t spare them much of a glance. “You were incredible.”
“Thank you,” Ada said in a low voice, finally speaking, although she hadn’t looked up at Jonny. “But Sharpe—”
“Don’t worry about him,” Jonny cut in. “We’ll take care of him.”
“And just who,” Rhys said in clipped words, “do you consider we?”
Jonny looked around them. While no one seemed particularly interested in them or anything they had to say, he’d rather not have any interested ears nearby.
“Me and Will,” he said. Ada sucked in an audible breath at the response. “But I’ll tell you the rest when we are alone.”
“Our house is closest,” Emmaline said, and soon enough, the eight of them found themselves around Rhys and Emmaline’s kitchen table. It was cramped, but with a few chairs borrowed from the sitting area, they all managed to fit.
“Now,” Rhys said, pointing a finger at Jonny. “Speak.”
When Jonny hesitated, Tommy gave him an encouraging nod.
“It’s better this way, Jon,” Tommy said. “Trust me.”
Jonny nodded, realizing that the only way to get through this was with the men he played beside on the field, who had shown up for him today even when he had given them no reason to trust him.
“Very well,” he said, before he launched into the story.
He told them all of it. His background. His father’s history with Blackwood and Sharpe.
Trying to leave the underworld and make a clean path forward for himself.
How he had left Will behind, thinking it was Will’s choice.
He told them about talking to Will and learning the truth of what had happened, of what Will had sacrificed for him.
He told them about stealing the ledger, about giving it back to Sharpe, but realizing that wasn’t the end — that Sharpe wanted more from him.
That he wanted him either back in the organization or dead, for they never left loose ends behind — exactly what Jonny was.
When he finished, Ada filled in the gaps about her own family.
She told them about her father’s business interests, both legitimate and otherwise, what he and the Carters wanted from one another.
How they had felt marriage would strengthen the bond between the businesses and that, as far as she knew, they planned to cut off Sharpe and go legitimate.
She finished by telling them that Sharpe now wanted the businesses for himself, which was why he had been at the church today and wanted her.
The only thing they left out was the connection between the two of them.
“There is one thing I don’t understand,” Colin said. “Why did you go along with the plan to marry David Carter?”
Perhaps there was one other thing they had omitted. Ada lifted her chin and stared Colin in the eye.
“Because the Carters discovered a truth that would destroy me, my family, and, quite possibly, all of you.” She paused, and tension filled the air. “I was the one who shot Blackwood.”
While it was no surprise to the ladies or to Jonny, the other three men gaped at her in disbelief.
“You’ve got to be joking,” Tommy said, wide-eyed, while Rhys stared at her, assessing, and Colin kept looking from his wife and back to Ada.
“But how?” Tommy said.
“I’m an excellent shot,” she said, before grimacing. “My father made sure of it when we were threatened by Blackwood when I was young.”
“Well,” Rhys said, the first to recover, likely because he wasn’t as surprised as the rest of them.
He had a way of reading people that was beyond what most others were capable of, “I suppose we have you to thank for our lives, then. If you hadn’t shot him and Garrick that night, we likely wouldn’t all still be here, sitting around this table. ”
“And we’d all like to stay here,” Jonny said grimly. “Which is why we need to finish this once and for all. Will and I have a plan. If you’re willing, we could use your help.”
“Do tell,” Tommy said, intrigued now.
“We’re going to take down Sharpe and install someone new at the head of the operation.”
Ada sucked in a breath before nearly whispering, “Will,” following his thoughts.
“Will,” he said with a grim nod. “Then he’ll bring them down from the inside, give Finch everything he needs to end it once and for all.”
“Do you trust him?” Tommy asked.
Jonny gave a curt nod. “I do. It might be folly, for I’ve trusted him before, but I looked him in the eye when he told me the story, and I know him nearly as well as anyone. I don’t think he’s lying to me.”
“So just how do we do this?” Emmaline asked, making it clear that she wasn’t going anywhere.
Jonny thought of his words not long ago, when he had told the women that they shouldn’t be involved in any plans.
He had thought it would keep them safe but look where that had gotten them.
If it wasn’t for the women, they wouldn’t still be here.
“That,” he said, “is a very good question.”
He launched into their plans, which they all agreed to, their faces contemplative.
Only Rhys had one objection.
“You do realize we have a game this weekend.”
“We do,” Jonny said. “Not to worry. I’ll be there. I’m ready. And after that? We take down Sharpe.”